![\"Tim](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI_302543829.jpg\")
Henman on his way to beating Paul Haarhuis in the third round of Wimbledon in 1997 (Photo: Getty)<\/p>\nMy Sporting Life is The i Paper\u2019s peek behind the curtain at what drives sports stars to greatness. Tim Henman was the British No 1 between 1999 and 2006 and won a career prize money total of \u00a311.6m reaching six grand slam semi-finals and second place in the men\u2019s doubles at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996. He is now a tennis pundit.<\/p>\n
My mum first took me to Centre Court in 1981 when I was six<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when I made my one and only career decision, that tennis was what I wanted to do. I saw Bjorn Borg play, and I\u2019ve still got the ticket and when I am back now either commentating or helping run the event I love it every single time.<\/p>\n
Henman on his way to beating Paul Haarhuis in the third round of Wimbledon in 1997 (Photo: Getty)<\/p>\n
Of course I\u2019d like to have won more<\/p>\n
But when I look back at what I achieved \u2013 being in the top 10 of the world for five years, the top 20 in the world for eight years consecutively, six grand slam semi-finals, an Olympic silver medal, to win 11 times on tour, to win the Masters 1000 in Paris, to beat Roger Federer<\/a> six times \u2013 I\u2019m happy with that. <\/p>\n Success is about maximizing your potential, and I gave absolutely everything that I could to my career, and four in the world was as good as I was meant to be. <\/p>\n I look back with disappointment, but no regrets<\/p>\n I would love to have won Wimbledon<\/a>, that was my ambition, but there are other people that were better than me.<\/p>\n If I could play one match again in my career, it would definitely be the 2001 semi-final against Goran Ivanisevic<\/p>\n He had been in three Wimbledon finals. He was No 2 in the world. He had won thirty plus titles. <\/p>\n He was a great player. We played five times in my career and I won four, so I fancied my chances. But sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn\u2019t. That\u2019s sport.<\/p>\n I do not miss professional tennis in any way, shape or form<\/p>\n I retired 19 years ago, which is ridiculous. I love tennis, I\u2019m involved in tennis, I work in the media, I\u2019m on the board at Wimbledon and I\u2019m the Laver Cup<\/a> vice-captain for Team Europe. <\/p>\n But the only one per cent of the game I miss is playing on Centre Court against the best in the world. <\/p>\n I don\u2019t miss the other 99% \u2013 the tournament, the training, the travel, the discipline. I don\u2019t miss it at all.<\/p>\n I probably play tennis twice a year now <\/p>\n It\u2019s impossible to replace that Centre Court feeling and I\u2019m not trying to but to still be involved like I am, I can still say, \u201cI\u2019ve always said I\u2019ve never had a real job, and I don\u2019t want one now.\u201d<\/p>\n Being in an enclosed commentary box with John McEnroe is a thrill<\/p>\n He is a great character. He is passionate about the game. He has got brilliant knowledge, and he is a lot of fun to be around.<\/p>\n Henman Hill will always be Henman Hill<\/p>\n Murray Mound? No chance. That\u2019s absolute rubbish. <\/p>\n You can\u2019t change its name. Once it\u2019s been named Henman Hill, it\u2019s Henman Hill forever. <\/p>\n I don\u2019t think it was planned when they built the new Court No 1 in 1997, but they had to put the earth they had dug out somewhere and that is how it evolved and I happened to be getting through to the semis at that time. The atmosphere has always been pretty special there.<\/p>\n I was the first person to be disqualified at Wimbledon in 120 years\u00a0<\/p>\n It was 1995 and I was playing doubles with Jeremy Bates, and we were two sets to one up. We were in the fourth set tie-break, so we were about to win.\u00a0So, it wasn\u2019t as if I was having some massive tantrum, but our opponents hit two very lucky shots in a row in the tie break, and it was now their serve.<\/p>\n I had the ball in my pocket for my second serve, but I made my first serve, so I was hitting the ball down the other end in slight frustration without really looking. <\/p>\n And as I hit the ball, the ball girl who was the other side of the net popped her head up to run across to the other side, and I hit her in the head. <\/p>\n Tony Blair witnessed me having a tantrum<\/p>\n The third time I lost the final at Queen\u2019s in 2001, I went back to the empty locker room, obviously a bit pissed off, so I lobbed my racket against the wall.<\/p>\n Sat on the bench, I was aware of someone in my vicinity, and I put my head in my hands, rested my elbows on my knees, and I looked at this person, and without really thinking, I just said, \u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n I remember thinking, \u201cGod, that was a bit aggressive,\u201d and I realised it was Tony Blair<\/a>, when he was Prime Minister. It turned out he was playing a charity match, and we ended up sitting and chatting for an hour about sport, politics, the Royal Family, the press. Then soon after when I lost to Ivanisevic at Wimbledon, I received a four-page handwritten letter from the Prime Minister, which I thought was pretty impressive.<\/p>\n Royal box guests do sometimes have too much Pimm\u2019s<\/p>\n I won\u2019t be mentioning names but it\u2019s a free bar. It\u2019s a great day out but I don\u2019t want to be slurring whilst I\u2019m commentating so I\u2019m careful but obviously there have been a few people who have overindulged. Hugh Grant<\/a> fell asleep last year, didn\u2019t he? And I saw Woody Harrelson worse for wear once.<\/p>\n I got invited to go on Strictly Come Dancing the day I retired in 2007\u00a0<\/p>\n Literally half an hour after I\u2019d made the announcement. My answer? I\u2019d rather stick pins in my eyes. <\/p>\n I danced very briefly at my wedding in 1999, but not many times since. If you see me on Strictly or in the jungle you know something\u2019s gone wrong.<\/p>\n![\"SAN](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI_302534885.jpg\")
The former British No 1 will be the vice-captain for Team Europe at the Laver Cup (Photo: Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Spectators](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI_302543439.jpg\")
Spectators regularly flock to Henman Hill to watch live matches on a big screen (Photo: Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Pr](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI_302534945.jpg\")
Henman admits he was \u2018pissed off\u2019 after losing the final at Queen\u2019s in 2001 (Photo: Getty)<\/p>\n